Investigating and measuring the criteria affecting the physical identity of the city streets(Case Study of Hafez Street, Shiraz)

Urban frontages, are considered among the most significant elements affecting the quality of public spaces, to which attention and quality improvement, can lead to a better quality of urban form and identity. Therefore, in order to restore the key principles influencing street frontage designs, these urban frontages need to be reconsidered. Aiming to evaluate the criteria and indicators affecting the physical identity of urban frontages, this research initiated with investigating the physical identity of urban facades. It was followed by developing a conceptual framework for presenting the aforementioned indicators. By sampling one street of Shiraz city (Hafez Street), it was tried to examine the elements affecting the physical identity in that case. The research method is analytic- inferential, and the researcher used a questionnaire to collect the data from two groups of visitors and experts. Structural Equation Modeling with partial least squares approach - using SmartPLS software, was used to analyze the data. Findings indicate different prioritization of factors affecting physical identity from the viewpoint of both groups of respondents. It was found that “order and harmony” is the most significant indicator of physical identity of street frontage from visitors’ viewpoint, while it is “structural variety” from experts’ perspective.